Remember how I said the rating was going to rise?

Yeah. This chapter is a good example of that.

(You and Erik… control your emotions, would you? I want all meh readers to be able to read this story! *le sigh* (That's right, I sighed in FRENCH!))

CHUT, Madi.

Half days. The art of cutting the school day in half and letting everyone out early. An upgrade would be days off. An upgrade from that would be weeks off.

That Wednesday was a half day, to my great relief. All of my students were rambunctious and jumpy, which was normal for a half day.

At noon, as I let my last class out, I realized that I had the rest of the day to just Erik and I. With a wide grin, I walked out of my classroom, only to bump into another teacher.

"I'm sorry," I apologized quickly, bending down to pick up a journal the teacher had dropped. Standing up, I cam face to face with Mr. Rylands.

A word about Mr. Rylands. He's a band teacher at the school I teach at. Rather, he's an intern to be a band teacher- he works for Mr. Dennison, the band teacher, and one of the coolest teachers on campus.

"Hey, Daniel," I said with a smile. Daniel's his first name.

"Hey, Christine," he replied. "Half day- want to go grab some lunch or something?"

I blushed a little, but recovered quickly. "Sorry, I already have a date."

"S'alright," he said. "And who's the lucky guy, if I may be so bold?"

"His name's Erik," I said with a grin. "Fiance, you know."

His eyes widened slightly. "Fiance?" I nodded. "Congradulations, then!"

I laughed a little. "Thanks, Dan. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Of course," he said. He paused for a moment, then added. "Erik, right?" Again, I nodded. "What's his last name?"

"Destler."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Same guy that just got out of jail a few weeks ago?"

"It was a misunderstanding," I said, sighing. The uncomfortable part of becoming Mrs. Destler- the accusations and odd looks.

"I see…" He trailed off, in mid thought. "I'll see you around, then."

I smiled. "See you, Dan."

I hopped into my bug- the car kind- and drove off, giddy from the thought of being with Erik. Just his name made my day. But to actually be with him, in his arms… it was pure bliss. I cherished every second with the man.

Soon enough, I drove into the parking lot in front of my apartment building. I broke into an unnecessary jog, and once reaching the door, nearly sprinted up the steps to the fifth floor.

I finally made my way to apartment number 376. Fumbling with my keys, I opened the door, hoping Erik was already here.

The apartment was empty.

I sighed. This meant that either he was hiding from me, or he wasn't going to be home for another hour or two. I hoped and prayed it wasn't the latter.

After setting my bag on the couch in the living room, shrugging off my jacket to hang on the coat tree, and feeding Johanna- another beagle; I brought her home two years after Annie died- I turned on the shower and grabbed a few towels, deciding to kill some time.

I tossed my high heels, jeans, and navy blue peasant blouse to the side, stepping into the shower and emitting a sigh of content, shutting the curtains behind me. Warm baths and showers always did the trick, especially when I wanted the minutes, even hours, to fly.

Grabbing a bottle of shampoo, I pooled a bit of the smooth liquid into my hand, rubbing it into my sopping wet hair. In seconds, my hair was a soapy mess, which was soon washed away by the consistent stream of warm water.

That's when I heard a faint click, then barely audible footsteps. I tensed. Was it him?

Making sure my hair was soap free, I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel- only to find that the towels were gone.

Definitely him.

I jumped a little, but luckily, not enough to slip and fall, as said towel was suddenly draped over my shoulders, then wrapped around me. He wrapped his strong arms around me, over the towel, locking his hands at my waist.

"Hey…" I murmured, looking up at him. He smiled, kissing my forehead. I leaned into the simple gesture, then smiled back as he pulled away to look at me.

He let go of the towel, and I hastened to keep it wrapped around me. He reached for a smaller towel, then brought it gently over my face, drying it off. He dropped the towel, staring at me with such a conflicted mix of love and desire I thought he might burst.

He said nothing, and neither did I. I don't even recall how long we stood there, staring at each other, before he wrapped his arms around me once more, one hand running down my side, tracing nearly every curve of my body. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the wall. One hand continued its journey, running over the rise of my breasts, hesitating, the sliding down the side of my stomach, causing me to shiver delightedly. His other hand rested on mine, where I held the towel in place, and gently moved my hand, causing the towel to drop.

My eyes flew open, searching for his. But his gaze was fixated on me, on my body.

"Erik," I whispered. Moments passed, until his gaze finally reached mine. Lust was prominent in his expression.

My heart beat rapidly, my breathing quickened. "I'm yours."

He finally spoke. "What happened to, 'not now'?"

"That was then," I said, sliding his arms around his neck. He backed me against the wall, breathing heavily, eyes clouded with desire. "If you don't want to-"

With a ferocious growl, he crushed his lips to mine. He pressed my body to his, and I could tell how much he wanted me, how much he needed me.

"Never think I don't wish to make love to you," he said huskily, his voice low and throaty. His lips met mine in another passionate kiss, and- well, I think you know how it went from there. I'll leave your dirty little minds to imagine the rest.

(Dirty little minds?)

Chut.

(Pffft. Just so you know, the next chapter's the same, more or less.)